I am wondering if there is any reason to use beakers over mason jars. And if there is any more advanced and precise methods to extract the top layer of the naptha?

I know there are separation funnels, but I am going to try the Max Ion Tek (STB) with powdered bark. From what I have read, a separation funnel will just get clogged from the bark.

Any suggestions to up my game. I would like to get more sciencey and precise with my extractions.


Thanks guys

Filter the bark/naptha through a cotton shirt or some other fabric, wring out all the juices then add only the juices to the sep funnel. no need to dump the bark into the sep since you're only seperating the solvent from the aqueous solution.

The only reason I would use beakers over mason jars is if the beakers were rated for heat i.e. it might be safer IF the beakers were "heat safe".

Also I'm not sure on the specifics of the max ion tek at the moment, so I don't even know if there is a heating phase.

Hope I helped

If you can get a glass syringe you can siphon off the layer of naphtha in a very controlled manner and get all but maybe 1 or 2 mm of the layer. This is my preferred method. The turkey baster can be hard to control and a separatory funnel can clog or be unwieldy/dangerous/expensive. With the syringe you aren't pouring any caustic liquid that might spill and cause burns.

Filtering with a t-shirt will remove most of the bark particles, but not the really small ones. These would probably still clog a sep funnel. You would have to let it sit overnight so the really fine sediment could settle to the bottom first, then decant or siphon the liquid off being careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom.

I'm not sure at which point in the process MM is suggesting that you filter your solution, but I don't know if I'd recommend filtering a basified bark solution... Many standard A/B teks recommend doing acid boils, then filtering, then adding base. Filtering that much caustic solution would leave a lot of room for error, and that's not a mess I would want to clean up.

Glass turkey basters work great, but a step up from them would probably be glass-on-glass syringes. They are often sold for industrial uses and I would probably recommend getting a larger one (50mL or so) for getting most of the solvent, then a smaller one (5-10mL or so) for getting that last little bit.

Also Mason/Ball jars work great, but I would recommend getting some BPA-free lids rather than using the lids that come with the jars.

EDIT:
Your post wasn't there yet when I loaded this page... Great minds think alike